Dark Lies Behind The White Eyes
by Mileharo Kerran
Summary: They say that the white eyes saw everything, but right now, she saw too late. All she saw in that very last moment that stretched into forever were his eyes, eyes that were as white as her own. And in the very next moment, there was only darkness...
1. Chapter 1

**DARK LIES BEHIND THE WHITE EYES **

**by Mileharo Kerran **

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_**A/N:** Standard disclaimer applies: Naruto obviously does not belong to me, else this thing wouldn't be __fanfiction, heheh. Read, enjoy and review, thanks. _

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_**Prologue**_

_She heard him call her name. There was something in the tone of his voice that made her turn around and face him warily. Perhaps it was the silence of the forest that made it all the more noticeable; after all, he was not a person known to ever have spoken warmly to her, but even this was more than his usual cool politeness. _

_She looked at the faces of the three people with her, all of them wearing the same expressions of tension, and all of them not quite meeting her eyes, except in that very last moment, when he spoke again in that odd voice. _

_"Forgive us." _

_It was her only warning, and at that very last moment, when white eyes met white eyes, the world seemed to stop. They say that at the very last moment before you die, your entire life would flash before your eyes, but she saw none of that. In the back of her mind, she saw the blade sticking out of her middle, the hand holding it slowly being covered with warm blood. _Her_ blood. In the back of her mind, she heard the distant howl of some animal, a cry of pain, a wail of lamentation. In the back of her mind, she felt the pain of her flesh slowly being numbed by the pain of betrayal. _

_They say that the white eyes saw everything, but right now, she saw too late. Who could have blamed her? She knew they despised her for being weak, and scoffed at her paltry attempts to improve. But she did try, and today's mission was supposed to have been evidence of her determination to become better. She tried so hard to uphold the family's name; she tried so hard to be better for _them_. That was why she never saw this coming. _

_All she saw in that very last moment that stretched into forever were his eyes, eyes that were as white as her own. She knew he saw so much more than she ever could with them, and wondered if he could see straight into her very soul. _

_And in the very next moment, there was only darkness. _

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	2. Chapter 2

**DARK LIES BEHIND THE WHITE EYES **

**by Mileharo Kerran **

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**CHAPTER ONE**

Paperwork. There was always paperwork to finish. Loads and loads of it. A lot of times she wondered why they never seemed to disappear even if she spent hours and hours everyday sitting here on her desk _trying_ to put them in order.

Like this file lying open on her desk. She'd been staring at it since she came back from her lunchbreak, and it was now the middle of the afternoon. She could barely make out the letters as white spots danced before her eyes, and she blinked owlishly at them.

What she needed was a little pick-me-up.

She bent forward -- well, more like _slumped_ forward, and rummaged in the darkness beneath her desk, knocking down several empty bottles in the process. She found the very last of her hidden stash, and with a blissful sigh, unscrewed the top and let the fiery brew gurgle down her throat. In her awkward position, some of it trickled from the side of her lips, but she paid it no heed as she continued to drink... and drink... and drink...

_Hits the spot, that,_ she thought. _Wonder if they give discounts if I buy by the case? Hm, I should tell Jiraiya about this... we could have us a merry session... maybe he'll help me with all this paperwork afterwards... should've been his job in the first place, damn it all... _

Her inebriated ruminations were rudely interrupted by the sound of the door suddenly crashing open.

"Tsunade-sama!"

There was a pained "Ow!" as she hit her head hard against the bottom of her desk, and she emerged from under it rubbing the injury. The scowl she had on her face didn't quite come off effectively, as it was undermined by a hint of guilt and the two bright red splotches on her cheeks.

"Whatizit?" she asked, meeting the hard gaze of her dark-haired secretary head-on. It would have been taken by any ordinary observer as a superior's due over her underling, but the truth of the matter was, it was only further affirmation of her state of drunkenness, this seemingly brave front against that tidal wave of irritation coming from the younger woman. After all, she taught Shizune _the look_, and any other person would have melted in a bubbly pink puddle that stank of guilt and embarrassment within the first few seconds of receiving it.

"Tsunade-sama." The voice was calmer. And much quieter, yes, that is to be noted. But while it wasn't as loud as the first time, it was scarier in its coldness, like the deceptive quiet before a storm... "What is the meaning of this?"

"Of what?" It was probably a futile attempt at playing innocent, and the older woman tried hard to keep her vision steady.

And then she hiccuped.

For one long moment Shizune only stared hard at her boss -- whose eyes watered as she tried to stare back unblinkingly -- and then the younger woman was striding forward in clipped steps, until she was right in front of Tsunade. "There is work to be done, and this is no time to be drunk."

With a sudden movement she lunged forward and reached for Tsunade's hand, which was still hidden behind the desk, wrapped around a half-empty bottle of sake. _My god,_ the dark-haired woman thought. _Now she's chugging it straight from the bottle. What a waste._ She tried to pull the bottle from Tsunade with her other hand, but it was a struggle. Tsunade was Hokage, after all, and a very physically strong one, to boot, nevermind that she was a very _drunk_ Hokage right now.

But in the end, she managed to pry off Tsunade's fingers from the bottle, and there was a look of triumph on her face. It was short-lived, however; when she saw the expression on Tsunade's face, which she expected to be one of anger or exasperation, her own lips drooped in dismay, and probably a hint of shame at her high-handedness. The look of utter dejection on the older woman's face was explained by the softly-murmured words, "Dan would have been fifty-eight today."

Shizune gently let go of her boss's wrist, which thumped listlessly against the armrest of the chair. How could she have forgotten? She mentally shook her head at herself, knowing that today was one of those few days that the Hokage had a legitimate reason to have some time for herself.

The older woman spoke again in a slurred voice, "Hopes and dreams are a funny thing, Shizune. I mean... look 't me now, I am Kage to a great country, and I never 'spected to be one... never really thought of being one. But what I truly wanted... what I thought I would be keeping f'rever... it's funny, isn't it?" She chuckled to herself.

Shizune didn't think any of it was amusing in any way. It was truly tragic how Tsunade lost two important people in her life very early, and it was probably the reason why she staked so much in her gambling... she had nothing more to lose. That is, until a few years back, when a certain yellow-haired ninja gave her reason to hope again... but right now, the old woman was stuck on the much distant past. It would probably be for the better if she were to be reminded of the present...

"_Hokage_-sama," -- there was a slight emphasis on the title -- "I'm sure Uncle Dan would be very proud of what you've accomplished as Hokage... Nawaki, too... their dream was your dream, and now you're living it, even if you never thought you would. Yes, I suppose dreams and hopes are funny that way.

"But they're worth nothing if you don't do anything about them."

Tsunade gasped at this statement, and for a moment her eyes widened, and were completely lucid. She understood the truth of Shizune's words, and even appreciated the gentle rebuke behind them at the way she was behaving right now. Her face softened into a small smile, and she whispered gratefully, "Thank you, Shizune."

Shizune smiled back.

And then Tsunade fainted.

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Her hand stopped mid-air in the act of knocking on the dark wooden door as she heard a frantic voice from inside the room.

"Hokage-sama! Are you okay, Tsunade-sama? Please wake up!"

Before she could put her hand down, the door was wrenched open, and she looked into the panicked face of a dark-haired woman. The sudden surprised expression on the woman's face must have been mirrored on her own, and she said uncertainly, "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

_It most certainly is_, Shizune thought as she stared at the person before her. The pretty face was unfamiliar, and she didn't dress like anyone from Konoha: over a black shirt with capped sleeves, she wore a simple dark green vest of a thick material that seemed too warm for Konoha's clime. There was a sash around her waist, and her dark pants flowed loosely over her thighs, but were cinched midway down her calves by the top edge of her bulky boots. The pretty girl's black hair hung straight down her back, and her long bangs partially covered her eyes, which were tilted intriguingly upwards at the outer edges, the green depths of them directed towards Shizune in polite inquiry. "Should I come back later?" the young woman asked again.

Shizune glanced over her shoulder, and barely managed to suppress the sudden wild urge to laugh upon seeing Tsunade's cheek burrowed against an open file folder on her desk, saliva slowly trickling from her slightly open mouth. When she noticed that the stranger was also looking into the room, she made to close the door.

"So... how can I help you?" Shizune asked, hoping that the stranger didn't get to see much of the Hokage in her current state.

"I'm here on a mission request. The receptionist on the first floor told me to go straight up."

"Er... could you please wait here one moment?" asked Shizune with a sheepish smile. "I'll be right back."

Before the stranger could do more than nod, Shizune was already sprinting down the hall, and the younger girl could only stare at her in befuddlement. She turned her attention to the closed door, and shook her head in disgust, the image of the person inside the room floating in her head.

_That_ was the famed Hokage of mighty Konoha?

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For about the hundredth time in the last few minutes, Shiyomi glanced down the hallway outside the Hokage's office. She had taken to pacing up and down the floor in front of the closed door, wondering where on earth the dark-haired woman ran off to. A few times she considered knocking, but thought the better of it as she recalled the image of the Hokage inside the room. Surely the woman didn't want to be seen in such a state... well, Shiyomi already had, but for the sake of propriety, she didn't want to do it again.

She turned towards the sound of rushing footsteps, and saw the woman from earlier holding something in her hand, which, as the woman drew closer, Shiyomi observed to be some sort of thick liquid of an indiscernible color in a glass. The woman barely spared her a glance, and went into the room, slamming the door behind her.

Shiyomi sighed.

Clearly the greatness of a nation does not necessarily mirror the degree of its hospitality.

There came from the room muffled choking sounds, and a voice wheezed out hoarsely, "Shizune! Are you trying to kill me?!" There was a hissed reply, and more hushed sounds which made Shiyomi want to put her ear right up against the door to listen. This has been a very interesting day already, and she hasn't even completed the task she came here to do yet. And this Tsunade woman was quite a character. She certainly didn't regret now the tiring four-day walk it took for her to get here, if only to meet these new people.

After a few more moments of waiting, the door swung open again, and the dark-haired woman stepped out of the room and addressed Shiyomi. "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. This is about a mission request, you said?"

"Yes. I understand it is to the Hokage that I should relay the details?"

"That would be correct. Er... the Hokage would be ready to see you now." A cheerful smile accompanied the secretary's reply. and she pushed the door open once again, gesturing for the visitor to enter the circular room.

Shiyomi was shocked to see the Hokage, seated behind her desk with her hands clasped loosely over it, with nary a hint of her earlier dishevelment. In fact, the older woman's amber eyes were brightly alert as she watched the visitor approach, and this unwavering appraisal caused a small shiver of hesitation to run up Shiyomi's spine.

"Hokage-sama." Shiyomi's greeting was accompanied by a short bow.

"Shizune said something about a mission request?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. I am Shiyomi, and I come from the Hidden Village of the Shadow. I have been sent to ask Konoha for aid in searching for a missing person from our village."

_Hidden Village of the Shadow..._ Tsunade vaguely remembered reading something about this small village, but she would have to look it up again later. All she was certain of about the Hidden Village of the Shadow was that it was located far north of Konoha, and that its people kept pretty much to themselves. This fact made it unnecessary for most of the other hidden villages to collect information about the Shadow village, and for the most part, the said village was forgotten in its insignificance.

Tsunade addressed her secretary, "Shizune, please get a chair for our visitor. This might be a long discussion."

Shizune immediately complied, and walked over to the far end of the room, and took one of the straight-backed wooden chairs aligned against the wall. She placed it behind Shiyomi, who smiled a wordless thank-you.

Shiyomi sat on the offered chair gratefully, as she had been standing outside for long minutes, and appreciated getting her weight off her feet. But as she faced the Hokage once more she felt like a student being interrogated by her teacher.

"So... tell me more about this missing person," the Hokage prompted after a few moments of silence.

Shiyomi colored a little after realizing that she had been staring for quite some time at the empty glass and a bottle of sake on one end of the desk before her. There were still traces of the murky liquid which she saw earlier at the sides of the glass, and Shiyomi was absently thinking of how funny the cause and the cure looked together. It must have been a pretty potent concoction, to have erased all trace of drunkenness entirely from the Hokage's system that fast.

Presently, the young woman started guiltily, wondering if the Hokage had read her thoughts. "Uh... yes... her name is Hikari, and she is an herbalist in our village..."

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	3. Chapter 3

**DARK LIES BEHIND THE WHITE EYES **

**by Mileharo Kerran **

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**CHAPTER TWO**

Kneeling before a low table in front of an open window in her room, Hyuuga Hinata carefully placed a cutting on an empty vase. She stared at the branch for a moment, appreciating its simple beauty, thinking of how amazing it was that the delicate petals of the rare white flower thrived in its natural environment. It was a cutting from a flowering tree which was native to the cold forests in the far northwest, and was brought to their home by someone from an allied family as a gift a very long time ago.

Presently she heard a soft knock on her door. "Come in," she said.

The door slid open to reveal her younger sister, Hanabi. At twelve years old, the younger Hyuuga had an air of confidence that Hinata could only have dreamed of possessing when she was that age. They shared a strained history, and even in these last years, when her father had softened enough to recognize Hinata's abilities, there was still an awkward tension among the family members with the knowledge that the younger Hyuuga was far more talented than the heiress. Still, the two held each other in polite civility, which actually cloaked the stronger emotion of sisterly affection.

"What is it, Hanabi?" Hinata asked with a faint smile as her sister stepped into the room.

"The Hokage has sent a messenger asking for you, onee-chan, and he is waiting outside."

"Oh? Did he say what it is about?"

"I don't know, but Father sent me to look for you right after the messenger arrived. I suppose he's telling Father what it's about right now."

The two sisters went out of the room together. It turned out that the messenger was there on a mission request for Hinata, but the details of the mission were to be relayed by the Hokage herself. Hinata wondered about what the mission would be, and who she would be going with.

_It's too bad that Naruto's away on a mission right now. No use hoping he'd be part of the team, then,_ Hinata thought. Until now, she still thought that Naruto was a wonderful shinobi, but more than that, a truly good person. Through the years, her childish crush has slowly changed into a deeper admiration for the yellow-haired ninja, but she knew that right now, she had no place in Naruto's life other than as a casual friend, as he still had a lot in his mind.

Uchiha Sasuke has managed to elude capture all these years, and the entire village knew, though Naruto was much less vocal about it – or perhaps exactly because Naruto has practically become close-mouthed in his determination to "save" his friend – that the incident two years ago, when they almost caught the rogue shinobi, had driven the young man to an almost mad desperation. Though outwardly he remained the same goofy, boisterous teen-ager, there was a hard glint in his eye everytime Sasuke was mentioned. Hinata had faith that Naruto would succeed one day.

As she walked toward the Hokage tower with the messenger, she spied her friend and former teammate walking in the same direction.

"Shino-kun!" she called out.

The young man nodded his head in acknowledgement but said nothing as he fell into step beside Hinata. He was as mysterious as ever, with his dark glasses and his hooded shirt. Even his hands were tucked in his pockets, and the only part of him that was exposed was the pale skin around his eyes.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked. Even Hinata could be considered talkative compared to the quiet shinobi.

"The Hokage has sent for me," he replied laconically in his deep monotone.

"Oh. I'm going there, too. Perhaps we'd be sent on a mission together," Hinata said, smiling at the prospect. The two of them, along with Kiba – and of course, Akamaru – were still sent on missions together, though they were no longer officially Team Eight after making it to Chuunin Level. In fact, Shino was made Jounin only a few months ago, after he and his bugs, along with a few other ninja, helped prevent a war between two of the smaller nations in the land.

Upon reaching the Hokage tower, they discovered that Kiba was there, too.

"Oy!" the dark-haired young man cried out. His enormous white dog barked his own joyful greeting from beside him. "You're here, too! This is great!"

"Hokage-sama," Shino said, bowing at Tsunade. Hinata and Kiba followed suit.

"Alright… now that you're all here, let me give you the details of your mission. Obviously the three of you will be going as a team," the buxom woman began from behind her desk.

The three ninjas – and the dog – beamed at each other upon hearing this.

"Since this will be a search and retrieval mission, you three were chosen, as you have all worked well with each other in the past, and you're undoubtedly one of the best tracking teams in Konoha.

"You will be looking for an old herbalist from the Shadow Village, and her name is Kuma Hikari. She disappeared from their village about two weeks ago; she was last seen going into the forest, saying that she is searching for a medicinal plant."

Hinata vaguely remembered hearing of the small village from their geography lessons in the Academy, but she could not recall much about it.

Kiba cut in, "Is there foul play involved?"

"The villagers have no idea, but they say they are not aware of any enemies the woman might have had. Understand that their village is small and hidden, and they are generally a peaceful lot. But it will be part of your mission, of course, to find out the circumstances of her disappearance."

This time it was Shino who spoke: "Perhaps someone was after her for her special talents? Someone from outside their village?"

Tsunade replied, "Yes, they did consider that. She was one of the village leaders, and was the most important healer there, according to their messenger. The village morale has sort of sunk after her disappearance."

"But the Hidden Village of the Shadow is so far up north… why didn't they just look for her themselves?" Shino asked. "Surely they know the area better. Why did they need to hire people from here?"

"They did look for her right after she disappeared, but obviously haven't found her yet. Apparently they've heard of the village shinobi's skills in tracking. She specifically inquired about the Hyuugas, you know." The last part was said with a half-smile directed to Hinata.

Hinata's eyes widened at this. The Hyuugas were a prominent family in Konoha, but she didn't think they were well-known even in the far-off Shadow Village. _That certainly puts the pressure on me…_ Now she was coming to this mission not only as a part of the team, but as the representative for the honorable Hyuugas. Though she has grown considerably more confident with her abilities, she was painfully aware that she was not the best candidate to represent her clan, and was more than a little daunted by the prospect.

"And by the way," Tsunade continued, "she will be accompanying you in your search for Kuma Hikari."

"'She'? Who's 'she'?" Kiba asked.

"Their messenger, Shiyomi," Tsunade replied. "I believe she's taking a tour of Konoha right now. She seemed real excited about "finally being here". Well, that's what she said, anyway.

"Right, that's basically it. Shadow's paying you for a B-rank mission, so I expect you to do your best. You'd be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Shino, you're team leader."

"What?! Again?!" Kiba cried out indignantly. Shino merely turned his head Kiba's way, and Hinata tried hard not to smile. "Why's he always the leader?! How come I never get to be leader?!" Kiba scowled, pointing at Shino. Akamaru let out a mewl of exasperation, and covered his head with his paws, seemingly embarrassed for his master's outburst.

"Exactly because of this!" Tsunade exploded in return. Kiba could do nothing but sniff his nose at this. You really couldn't argue with Tsunade. "You're too impulsive, Kiba, as well as hot-tempered and impatient." The Hokage said this with a scowl to match Kiba's, and Kiba's face colored at this description. "Add the fact that Shino's already Jounin, so what are you bitching about?"

Kiba could do nothing but mutter at this.

"Now that that's over with," Tsunade said with a pointed look at the young Inuzuka, "I expect you all tomorrow morning by the village gate at eight o'clock sharp. You'll be meeting with the Shadow messenger there. Get a good rest tonight. You can all go now."

And with that, they were dismissed.

Kiba was still muttering as they walked out of the tower, and Hinata felt awkward, walking between her two friends like that. Shino didn't say a word, and Hinata could only guess at what he was thinking. She understood how Kiba felt, but knew that the Hokage was right in her decision to make Shino the leader.

She placed a hesitant hand on Kiba's stiff arm.

"What?" the dark-haired boy snapped.

"P-please, Kiba, don't be like this…" Hinata was unaware of the stutter, but Kiba noticed it. He knew that Hinata seldom ever stuttered anymore, and realized that the strained situation was making her do it this time. He also knew that none of this was Hinata's fault, and for that he was apologetic, and right away conceded that he was, indeed, acting like an idiot. Especially since Shino was also his friend.

Kiba halted in his tracks, and his teammates also stopped. There was still a pleading look in Hinata's eyes, though she had dropped her hand from his arm, but Shino kept his back turned to them.

"Shino…" Kiba began. The hooded boy merely turned his head partway.

"I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean it." Kiba said in a low voice that was almost inaudible. After a moment, Shino nodded.

"I know you'd be the better leader," Kiba continued. "Tsunade was right. And you _are_ our leader. I don't know what got into me. Friends?" Kiba held out his hand.

For one long moment, Shino merely looked at the outstretched hand of his teammate, and Hinata bit her lip anxiously. Shino was not one for physical contact, and even after all these years of being together, he was still very reserved, though Hinata and Kiba were aware that they were the quiet boy's closest friends.

But then Shino pulled his hand out of his pocket, and grasped Kiba's. "Of course," he said.

Hinata's face broke into a relieved smile.

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	4. Chapter 4

**DARK LIES BEHIND THE WHITE EYES **

**by Mileharo Kerran **

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_**A/N:** One chapter every four months, geez. Expect chapter five around Christmas, then, heheh. Sorry, I keep forgetting about this. I've combined the previous chapters one and two -- seems reasonable, considering their length and content. Anyway, here's the latest chapter, and thanks for reading. _

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**CHAPTER THREE **

"It's almost eight-thirty. Where in the world is she?" Kiba growled as he paced to and fro in front of the village gate.

Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru all made it there the next morning before the set time, and were waiting for the messenger from Shadow. They were becoming impatient as the minutes sped by with no sign of the woman, and they were starting to worry that something might have happened to her.

"Should we go to the Hokage tower and ask if anything's changed?" Hinata asked her teammates.

"They would have come to _us_ if there were changes in the plan," Shino said. "Let's wait five more minutes, and then we'll go to the tower."

"Alright. _You're_ the leader," Kiba said with a small frown. Hinata was surprised at this; she thought that Kiba was already over his little tantrum yesterday. Even Shino turned his head Kiba's way, and Hinata could see his brows coming together in a deeper furrow. But then Kiba's face broke into a smile, and he winked at Hinata, saying, "Gotcha."

"Kiba-kun…" Hinata said, half in relief and half in admonishment.

Akamaru lifted his head off the ground and barked at something in the distance. The three turned their heads in the direction the giant dog indicated, and saw a figure clad in black and green running towards them.

"That must be her," said Hinata.

"_Finally!_" said Kiba.

"Woof!" said Akamaru.

"…" said Shino.

As the figure approached, Hinata was surprised to see that she looked to be about their age. She was expecting a much older woman, though she supposed there was really no reason why she thought that.

"So sorry I'm late," the girl wheezed as she stopped in front of them. Hinata saw that she was rather pretty, with black hair as long as her own. She held a long walking staff made of dark wood in her hand, and bent forward, bracing her other hand on her knee as she tried to catch her breath. "I must've turned off my alarm clock. Really, I apologize."

"You're almost thirty minutes late. I hope this won't be a problem in the next few days," Kiba said tersely. The girl raised an eyebrow at this. "Kiba," warned Shino.

Hinata hastened to dispel the awkwardness. "You must be Shiyomi. This is Inuzuka Kiba. And Aburame Shino, who's our team leader."

Shiyomi nodded at each of them, though there was a hint of wariness when she looked at Kiba.

Akamaru let out a small yip, and Hinata said, "Oh, I'm sorry! This is Akamaru. He's Kiba's."

Shiyomi also nodded gravely to the beast.

"Oh, and I'm Hyuuga Hinata," the kunoichi added, almost as an afterthought.

"You're the Hyuuga heiress, then? Pleased to meet you." There was an appraising look in the foreigner's eye, but this was countered by the warm smile she directed to Hinata.

"Let's go. Talk while we walk." Shino said, and he promptly began walking out of the tall gates. Kiba and Akamaru followed him.

"Eh?" Shiyomi said to Hinata, who waited politely beside her. "Is he always like that?" she whispered conspiratorially to the pale-eyed girl. Hinata didn't know which of the two she was referring to, but since both her teammates were acting like their usual selves, she only smiled and nodded. "Shall we go?"

As they walked away from Konoha, Shiyomi kept a running commentary. It was mostly Hinata who listened to her, as the two boys and Akamaru were walking a short way ahead of them. She talked about how big Konoha was compared to Shadow, and of how amazing all the shops and the number of people were. Shadow must really be no more than a few quiet huts, judging by how Shiyomi was overwhelmed by Konoha.

Shiyomi also explained to the three of them all that she knew about the disappearance of the old herbalist.

"Nobody was really worried at first," she said. "It isn't strange for her to go off on her own, but she's never been gone this long. She's pretty old, you know. Everyone calls her Grandma Hikari. And we're related, I think, but not very closely."

Hinata asked, "What do the people think happened to her?"

"Well, right now, everybody's just speculating. We're afraid she might have been hurt – she might have fallen and broken her ankle, or whatever. I hope she's okay, though." A worried frown marred Shiyomi's pretty face.

"But it's been how long since she disappeared? Two weeks?" Kiba asked. "If she injured herself in the forest…" he didn't continue, but everybody understood what he implied.

"If that's the case," the foreigner replied gravely, "we'd still want to find her… body… find out what happened to her. At least we'd know for sure."

The four teenagers were quiet after that. It was a saddening prospect, to go looking for an old woman loved by her entire village and possibly find her dead. Hinata could do nothing but pray… and she wasn't even sure what to pray for. She grasped Shiyomi's hand as they walked, and the other girl looked at her, surprised.

"We'll find her," Hinata whispered with a smile. "That's a promise."

Shiyomi squeezed her hand and smiled back.

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The group moved on at a comfortable pace, stopping only for meals. Shiyomi turned out to be a good cook; she even carried with her an assortment of herbs and spices which even Hinata, decent enough cook that she was, was unfamiliar with. Shiyomi supplemented their meager rations of bread and dried meat with salads which she would whip up using whatever edible plants and nuts they'd come across, using her stock of spices to liven up the leafy taste, that even Kiba, who first turned his nose up at the idea of eating all those disgusting green… _leaves_, ended up asking for seconds.

At night, they put up two small tents, one for Shiyomi and Hinata, and one for Shino, Kiba and Akamaru. If they went out of their way hurrying, according to Shiyomi, they would only save one out of the four days of travelling, and she insisted that that wouldn't be much.

"Just one day… Grandma Hikari is pretty resourceful… If she's alive in the forest, she'll find a way to feed herself, shelter herself… I hope…"

Shino asked the same question he asked Tsunade, "Is there a possibility that she's been kidnapped?"

Shiyomi took some time answering this. "Nobody knows. As far as everybody's concerned, we don't really have enemies… we really don't have anything some of the other villages would want."

Kiba said, "But if Hikari's a great herbalist, maybe they'd want her for that. I just don't see how she'd get lost like that, or if she did get lost, why you haven't found her yet."

Shiyomi's voice was tense as she answered. "You don't understand. It's a very old and very big forest, and even if our people have lived in that area a long time already, there are still a lot of places we haven't explored… parts of the forest we _won't_ go into."

"Why not?" persisted Kiba.

"Because it could be dangerous!" replied the exasperated Shiyomi. "Some of our people, through the years, have gone into the forest and never came back. It's just that Hikari's a really important person in the village, and that's why we've gone through all this trouble to find her, even asking for help from your village."

"All right, calm down," muttered Kiba. "I suppose we'll just see how dangerous your forest is when we get there."

Shiyomi shot Kiba an irritated glance, but before she could speak, Shino said, "We'll do our best, Shiyomi. Let's see what we find when we get there."

Hinata sighed. It seemed there wasn't anything she could do about Kiba and Shiyomi always managing to irritate each other. This trip was going to be longer than she first thought.

-------

They reached the border of Shiyomi's forest two nights later, and they were already travelling in a woody area. The two tents were up in a little clearing, and after a filling meal and some stories by the fire, the group settled in to rest. They had no trouble falling asleep shortly after they said their goodnights, and a few moments after tucking in, the silence of the night was disturbed only by the humming of the insects in the trees and Akamaru's soft snores.

The new moon shed what little light it could on the sleeping woods, but in this seemingly peaceful tableau, shadows stealthily moved in from the edges of the clearing.

Hinata sat up suddenly, feeling like she woke up from a bad dream. She rubbed her fingertips against her closed lids, trying both to remember the dream and to dispel the bad feeling. She glanced over at Shiyomi, who lay still as she slept, completely hidden under her blanket. Trying to make as little noise as she could so as not to wake the other girl, Hinata slid out of her covers and crawled out of the tent, hoping a breath of fresh air would chase away the half-remembered nightmare.

She looked up at the crescent moon, stretching her arms and legs and sucking in the cool night air. Suddenly, she felt a tingling on her nape, and out of the corner of her eye caught a shadowy movement in the trees nearby. All feeling of sleepiness fled her system, and she hastily formed a seal, and muttered, "_Byakugan._"

With her heightened vision she now saw clearly into the surrounding trees, and was shocked to discover the presence of about thirty or forty dark figures. In the next moment, they were rushing at her, and she managed to croak out, "Shino-kun! Kiba-kun!"

There was a rustling from nearby, and Hinata looked around and saw Shino, Kiba and Akamaru rush out of their tent, practically tripping over each other in their haste, the dog-nin and his giant companion growling.

The next moment was filled with seals hurriedly being formed as the group moved into battle mode, Shino's bugs crawling and flying out of his skin to attack the enemy. Kiba was shouting, "What the hell is this?! I didn't smell anything, and neither did Akamaru!"

Akamaru barked to confirm this. As the first of the shadowy figures reached them, Hinata realized something very weird about the attackers. With her byakugan activated, she expected to see the chakra coils in their enemies' bodies, so she was truly shocked to discover they had none. Instead, it seemed that their entire bodies were filled with irregularly pulsating waves of chakra.

About twelve to fifteen of these figures suddenly lunged at Hinata all at the same time, and she barely managed to cry, "Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho!" before they were upon her. As her palms moved around her in a blur, the enemies one by one exploded upon contact with the chakra blades emitted by the tenketsu in her hands. She felt strangely weakened after her defensive maneuver, and she stood shaking as she looked at the fallen bodies of the enemy.

From beside her, she heard Shino say, "Shiyomi! She's still inside!"

As Shino and Kiba were both fighting against the strange enemies, Hinata ran back to her tent and saw one of the shadowy figures slithering against the flap; it was almost inside the tent. She jumped into the air, and was almost surprised that her chakra-charged hand landed a solid blow against the indistinct form of the enemy. In the next second, it felt as if the chakra from her hand not only exited from her chakra points, but were _sucked_ out of them at the impact. The place of impact glowed against her fist, and suddenly, her enemy exploded with a squilching sound, and dark splotches landed against her entire front. She expected to feel the wet impact against the skin of her face, but to her surprise, the essence of her enemy touched her as softly as slowly falling snowflakes, just as cool, just as feathery, and just like snowflakes were gone in the next second. She touched a wondering hand against her cheek.

Before Hinata could do anything more, she heard something howling in the distance, and the sound chilled her, and she literally shivered, unable to move. In the next moment, there was a crash from the forest behind them, as if something very big and very fast was moving towards them. Suddenly, a light broke out of the forest, and she barely registered the glowing face of an unspeakably frightening beast before there was a piercing pain where her neck met her shoulder, and she felt herself being lifted off the ground, and she could do nothing but scream in pain –

-------

"Damn you, cowards! Come on, is that all you've got?" Kiba taunted. Not one of the enemies made a reply. There was something strange about them…

In the middle of the battle, Kiba heard a howling sound, and froze in the middle of clawing at one of the elusive enemies. As a result, his opponent managed to land a fleshy blow against his jaw, and his head flew back at the impact. As he landed heavily, he heard someone scream, and he looked over to where the tents were. He saw a light receding into the forest.

As he began to run toward the tents, he felt something hit his shoulder from behind. Turning around, he saw three of the figures rushing at him from different directions, and he managed to defend himself as they attacked, sending one flying against a tree with a well-placed kick in the gut, another tumbling backwards with an uppercut. Still, there didn't seem to be an end to the number of enemies coming at him from the trees, and he spent the next few minutes hitting, flying and kicking against the onslaught. There were small explosions in the distance, and Kiba saw Shino let fly a number of kunai with exploding tags, and regretted not thinking of picking up his supply pouch before he ran out of their tent earlier. The tags seemed to work pretty well against the enemy.

-------

There was something strange about the enemy…

Shino threw a handful of shuriken at them, but most were easily dodged. Undaunted, he let his bugs attack them… for surely they couldn't be avoided as easily as shuriken, what with the smallness and vast number of them there were. As wave after wave of his bugs flew at the enemy, Shino sensed that something was not right… after a few moments his bugs let him know that they couldn't find the enemies' tenketsu… there didn't seem to be any…

A block here, a hit there… they seemed to be strictly taijutsu users, and Shino could do nothing but pretty much defend himself. He felt small bursts of pain within his body as his destruction bugs fell against the onslaught, for each of his bugs were connected to himself by the same mysterious force that allowed them to communicate with him, and their pain was also his.

He heard a scream not too far away, and he looked in that direction, seeing Shiyomi near the tents, who seemed to be breathing hard, her eyes wide.

"Shiyomi! Stay back!" he shouted, hoping the foreigner would not do something stupid.

"Shino! They got Hinata! Stay here and fight; I'll go after her!" And with that, the girl ran into the forest, her stick flapping awkwardly against her.

"Wha—no! Come back!" Shino tried to go after Shiyomi, but there was another wave of the enemy running at him… he was beginning to tire, there were just too many of them…

-------

"Gaatsuga!" Kiba shouted, and he and Akamaru drilled through the enemies at high speed, and soon after that, there was silence, as the remaining enemies slinkered away as stealthily as they came. Curiously, after a few moments the bodies of the fallen enemies disappeared from the ground with a hissing sound, leaving not even a single hair or a drop of blood.

As Kiba stood, shaking after the unexpected attack, he was stunned to see Shino lying on the ground. It took some effort to even walk over to where his friend lay, and he was vastly relieved to hear Shino say, still in his monotone, "that was strange…" Kiba dropped next to his teammate, trying to control the shaking of his arms and legs. A short distance away, Akamaru also lay panting heavily on the cool ground.

"What the hell… what the hell was that?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know… but I feel numb…" Shino replied, his arms and legs stretched out as he lay. Around him, a few of his bugs were slowly crawling back, trying to get inside him. Kiba was silent as he observed that some of the black insects no longer moved from the ground.

"That was horrible… we were useless…" Kiba wheezed.

"They got Hinata. What did they want from us?" Shino asked no one in particular.

"And Shiyomi… My God, where's Shiyomi?!" Kiba was horrified to realize just now that the other girl was gone as well.

"She said she'd go after Hinata… foolish girl. I didn't even see them take her."

"What?! Is she… how in the world can she help Hinata? I didn't think she could fight!"

"Maybe she's a ninja. We just assumed she wasn't."

"Shit… what can we do? I didn't smell anything… how are we going to track them? And I can barely move…"

Shino's eyebrows furrowed together, and after a moment he said, "My bugs say they see some blood near the tents. Come on, let's take a look…"

"Damn, I can't stand up!" Kiba said.

"My tenketsu are damaged, I think… and my chakra's completely drained," Shino said. "I'm worried about my bugs… they can't recover well without chakra."

"That's it. Those weirdos have messed up our tenketsu… but we have to look for Hinata and that foreigner… Akamaru, boy, are you alright?" The dog huffed weakly, as if trying to reassure his master that he will be okay.

Kiba tried to control his twitching fingers and the random tingling bursts inside him as he crawled towards the tents. "Blood, eh… yeah, I'm beginning to smell it. Oh, shit… I think it's Hinata's…"

-------

The three girls leaned heavily against each other as they surveyed the unconscious figure on the ground.

"There, that should staunch the bleeding in her neck for now. I'll need to replace the bandage in a few hours, and I'm almost out of yarrow." The speaker looked into a small pouch, frowning at her dwindling supply. "We'll be there in half a day, anyway, so I suppose I can still make this last."

"So that's her, eh," one of the girls said, still slightly out of breath, with a hard gleam on her pupil-less grey eyes. "The Heir of the Hyuuga." She snorted.

"Bitch," the tallest of them muttered, spitting out some blood from her mouth. "This is her blood on my mouth, and I fucking hate the taste of it." She took a piece of cloth from her pocket, and stuffed it into her mouth, trying to wipe off the metallic taste.

"Kanaki!" the first speaker admonished, rapping the other girl softly behind the head with the long stick she held in her hand.

"What the hell was that for?!" the girl with the bloody mouth exclaimed.

"Watch your language. Your mouth's too dirty even without all the blood in it. Plus she's not that bad," the girl with the stick said, cocking her head at the person on the ground. "She's actually quite nice."

"Oh, stuff it," the grey-eyed girl said. She kicked the unconscious Hinata softly on the shin. "Who cares if she's nice? We've been waiting for this chance for too long, and we can't stop now just because she's _quite nice._"

"Fine, fine," Shiyomi said. "Come on, we need to get going. Those two guys might come for us any minute now. I've used up a lot of my herbs, but I suppose it's worth it; they didn't sense a thing." She used her stick as leverage as she stood up, and she held out a hand to her grey-eyed comrade.

Kumiko took Shiyomi's hand and shakily got to her feet. She silently cursed her weakness, though heaven knows she should be used to it by now, as she knew that everytime she used that particular technique what little chakra she could mold would be completely drained.

Kanaki placed her kerchief back inside her pocket, and she bent forward, taking a hold of Hinata and swinging her over her shoulder, hissing another curse at the heaviness of her burden. Awkwardly she began walking, and the two fell in step behind her.

As Kumiko watched the back of Hinata's head as it swung with every step Kanaki took, she couldn't help but smile, though it was a smile devoid of any pleasure or humor. Finally… the moment they've all been waiting for was almost at hand. Revenge certainly was sweet, especially after it's been brewing for a long time. And such a long time it has been… but in about three days, they would all be able to savor it in its perfection…

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	5. Chapter 5

**DARK LIES BEHIND THE WHITE EYES **

**by Mileharo Kerran **

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_**A/N:** Hey, new chapter. Help me out with this; tell me if I'm doing something right, or something wrong. Plus, make sure you've read the last part of the previous chapter; I merged the first two chapters, and added something to the third, but it turns out it isn't considered an update if you just "replace" a chapter. I know putting OCs in a fanfic is kind of a turn-off for some people, but I just can't let go of the idea. So here's a new chapter, and thanks for reading. Enjoy!_

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**CHAPTER FOUR **

The world swayed crazily as Hinata slowly regained consciousness. In her weakened state, her mind could register nothing more than the pounding pressure in her head and the tingling in her hands and feet. She opened her eyes, but only darkness clouded her vision. Her nose was rubbing against some itchy material, and she longed to scratch it, but she discovered that her arms were too numb, stretched way over her head and tangling with her long hair.

A moan escaped her lips, and only when she stopped did she even realize that she had been moving. She heard a female voice say, "I think she's awake," and then she was sliding off whatever perch she had been occupying. As she landed on the cold ground, there was a sudden pain in her neck, which made her snap out of her stupor and cry out.

"Kanaki," a familiar voice said, somewhat sharply, "Can you please be more careful? Sheesh, you've made her bleed again – "

Kanaki rubbed her aching shoulder. "Sorry," she said, "but I'm tired. We've been travelling for five hours, can't we stop for a while?"

"It' s only been _four_ hours, and we've still at least that much longer to get home. We should keep going – "

"Kumiko, be reasonable. Kanaki's worn out, and so are you – don't bother denying it! We just need to rest for maybe thirty minutes at most. We'll be there by midmorning."

Kumiko sighed, her pupil-less grey eyes glancing over to the east, where the bits of sky that could be seen through the bald patches in the leafy canopy overhead were beginning to lighten. "Alright. But Shiyomi, don't you have any more of those green pills? I can use another one."

"No more energy pills for you. Taking one is risky enough, let alone two within a day! Come on, help me with this, we have to change her bandage. Oh, I _don't_ believe it! Kanaki's asleep, just look at that!" Shiyomi huffed in disgust.

Hinata heard all this but could do nothing as she lay on the ground, her hands and feet bound painfully. Shiyomi… it was too awful to think of how easily they had been misled by the foreigner. Just how much had she lied about? Hinata once again regretted her own too-trusting nature; she had been taken completely by the other girl's friendly chatter and smiling eyes. She tried to see what the owners of the two other voices looked like, but she couldn't focus her vision, seeing only about two or three feet in front of her, leaving everything else a blur.

There was a sudden pressure against her half-closed eyelids, and they were forced upwards until her eyes were painfully and completely open. Her tormentor was near enough for Hinata to see that she had eyes similar to her own, but was about one or two shades darker. Short brown hair sprouted messily from her head, somewhat held in check by a cloth head band. The girl's face was pale against her high-necked grey top, and her dark brows were drawn together in concentration.

"Hm," Kumiko murmured thoughtfully as one pair of pale eyes examined another.

"Almost as pretty as yours, Kumiko," Shiyomi joked.

"Not really. Hers are much prettier. These are pure Hyuuga," Kumiko chuckled bitterly, her fingers digging against Hinata's lids, and the Hyuuga girl gasped, terrified that this Kumiko would tear her eyes out.

But then Kumiko eased off the pressure and said, "Don't worry, Princess. Much as I'd like to destroy these beauties right now, we still have plans for you." She patted her hand against Hinata's cheek in mock comfort.

"Move over, Kumi. Bandage's ready." Shiyomi took Kumiko's place by Hinata's side, and Hinata felt the adhesive of the bandage in her neck pull away from her skin, and something warm trickled down her neck. "Tsk, just in time. Hand me my supply kit, please – thanks."

Hinata just stared at Shiyomi as the girl administered to her wounds. Shiyomi put something green in her mouth, chewed a bit and then spit it into her hand.

"Gads, Shiyomi, is that sanitary?"

Shiyomi's fingers halted in the act of rubbing the green paste against Hinata's neck. She glared at Kumiko, who raised her hands in front of her, saying, "Alright, alright, you're the medic here."

"My germs won't kill her," said Shiyomi huffily.

Shiyomi concentrated on applying the paste on Hinata's injury, but found the Hyuuga girl's unblinking stare somewhat disconcerting. She chanced a glance at Hinata's eyes, and sure enough, beneath the fevered glaze was more than just a hint of accusation.

"What?" Shiyomi asked defensively.

"How could you… we trusted you…" Hinata's voice came out raspy.

"That's not my problem," she muttered.

"Shino-kun and Kiba-kun… what have you done with them?"

Shiyomi didn't answer, and Hinata feared the worst.

"D- did you kill them?" Despite the stutter, her voice was biting. She tried wriggling away from the medic's ministrations in disgust.

"Let's just say they won't be coming to get you," Shiyomi said tersely, grasping Hinata's shoulder to steady her.

Hinata couldn't believe it. After all these years of taking precautions, after all these years of training hard, it seems that someone finally succeeded in what her family have managed to protect her from for more than a few times: she had been _kidnapped_.

"Just what… just what do you want with me?" she asked as Shiyomi finished replacing her bandage.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," came Kumiko's voice from a short distance away. Hinata thought she heard her mumble something like "revenge sure is sweet."

"Enough questions," broke in Shiyomi. She rummaged through her kit and pulled out something brown and crumbly, and crushed it between her fingers. She held it before Hinata's mouth, and when the Hyuuga girl clamped her lips shut, Shiyomi pinched her nose with her other hand. She regretted having to drug the girl again, but knew this would make their trip easier. Her questions would be answered soon, anyway. As soon as Hinata opened her mouth to breathe, she pushed her fingers through the girl's mouth, taking care not to get bitten. Hinata struggled against her bindings, but Shiyomi firmly held the girl's jaw closed, and soon after, Hinata stopped moving and her eyes were closed once more.

Shiyomi sighed. Fifteen more minutes… she could get in a few more winks before they were off again…

-------

"Aaaarrgh!" Kiba cried out in frustration. "What in the world is happening here?! We've been going for two hours! We're _lost_, is what we are!"

Shino looked around him. "We're walking in circles."

"I _know_!" ranted Kiba. "What the hell is this place? It's like we got caught in a genjutsu, or something…" His eyebrow twitched, not in irritation, but as yet another random tingle zinged through his system as an after-effect of the attack earlier. He scratched it absently.

The forest had become enshrouded in a light fog, but that didn't hinder them from jumping through the trees as they searched for their teammate. Neither did the darkness of the early morning; the light of the new moon was enough to silver the edges of the leaves overhead. What bothered Kiba was the disturbing fact that both his and Akamaru's noses weren't working as they should. Something the attackers did earlier damaged their chakra circulatory systems, as well as dulled their senses. For normal humans, that would have been disabling enough, but for ninja with highly specialized senses on which they depended as they performed sensitive jobs, it was downright devastating. Sure, they were recovering, but it was such a frustratingly slow process, and Kiba truly feared that it might have a permanent effect.

Beneath his glasses, Shino's eyes narrowed. He was sure that they had walked by this place twice before already. They just needed to break the cycle…

"Oh, God, Shino, what if we can't find Hinata? Her father is going to kill us!"

Shino had been thinking the exact same thing for quite some time now, and as the leader for this particular mission, he knew that he was, in part, responsible for what happened, and that it would be his head on the Hyuuga chopping block if they failed to find their teammate.

"Keep walking."

"What! But we're not going anywhere!" Kiba exclaimed, even as he followed Shino. "You just said – "

"Just do it. One more round, just to be sure. Even a circle can be broken, if you find where its ends meet."

"Eh… you're talking crazy again, man," Kiba muttered, scratching his head. Sometimes his teammate was just too weird, but Kiba would be the first one to admit that his teammate was also one of the most intelligent ninja their age, and in the end, he would entrust his life to Shino's judgement.

About forty-five minutes later, Shino stopped once more.

"What now?" Kiba asked, rubbing behind Akamaru's ears. The dog sighed contentedly, huffing moist air against his master's neck.

Shino stood still for a while, and then a number of his bugs zoomed out in all directions. To Kiba's surprise, his teammate sat and leaned back against the trunk of a tree. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"And now we wait," Shino finally said in his monotone. "You can take a nap if you want. We've still at least twenty minutes. I'll wake you up; maybe by then both of your noses will be working better." He adjusted his dark glasses over the bridge of his nose.

Kiba waited for more information from Shino, but after a while, it became apparent that no more was forthcoming, and Shino had once again fallen silent.

"We're waiting for what, exactly?" Kiba asked.

Shino didn't reply. His chest rose and fell with the breaths that he took, and it became obvious to Kiba.

His teammate had fallen asleep.

"Great," he muttered, and sank against Akamaru on the ground. He looked up at the pinkening sky, and settled comfortably, his eyes drifting shut.

And then he, too, was asleep.

-------

Kiba woke up to Shino poking his shoulder. "Time to go," said Shino.

The dog-nin got up and stretched, feeling very much refreshed after his nap. The sun had risen, and its morning rays washed over the forest around them, melting away what remained of the dawn's light fog.

"Where are we going now?" he asked.

"That way." Shino raised his finger and pointed it deeper into the forest.

"How do you know?"

"My bugs came back."

"So?"

"But one of them didn't."

"Huh?"

"So that's the direction we're taking."

"Eh…" Kiba couldn't make sense of that. "So now we're going after your lost bug… what about Hinata? Don't you think we should look for her first?"

Shino pinned Kiba a levelling stare. "Each one of the kikaichu that I sent out returned except for that one."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning everyone else came back to us full circle, but that one managed to break out of it. And that's why we're going in the direction it took."

With that, Shino started walking away. Kiba could only stare at him, and a scary image of the Hokage flashed in his mind, laughing like a maniac and pointing her finger, saying "…and this is why Shino's the leader and you're not…"

She was right, of course. Kiba was once again amazed at his friend's logic, and he couldn't begrudge him the praise that was due.

"Hey, that's great, man!" he said, beaming at his teammate as he punched his shoulder companionably. "Come on, let's go this way!" With that, he bounded in the direction Shino indicated, and Akamaru followed, barking joyfully.

Shino stared at the retreating back of his friend and shook his head, and beneath his high collar, a smile crossed his lips.

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End file.
